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Gold Logs Lowest Close Since August

On Tuesday, gold (NYSEARCA:GLD) futures for February delivery, the most active contract, dropped $27.50 to settle at $1,670.70 per ounce, while silver (NYSEARCA:SLV) futures for March fell 61 cents to close at $31.67. It was the lowest close for gold since late August.

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Both precious metals declined on the back of a “risk on” rally and newly released data. The U.S. current account deficit came in at $107.51 billion for the third quarter, its lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2010. However, it missed estimates for a deficit of $102 billion, according to economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.

Jeremy Lawson, senior U.S. economist at BNP Paribas says, “We could have the current account balance remaining broadly where it is. If growth in emerging markets picks up next year, that would boost export performance. Similarly, faster growth in the U.S. would increase imports. It’s hard to say how much of an improvement we could see.”

By the end of the day, the SPDR Gold Trust (NYSEARCA:GLD) closed 1.44 percent in the red, while the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEARCA:SLV) declined 1.76 percent. Gold miners (NYSEARCA:GDX) such as Yamana Gold (NYSE:AUY) and Goldcorp (NYSE:GG) both fell more than 1.0 percent. Silver names such as Coeur d’Alene Mines (NYSE:CDE) and Silver Wheaton (NYSE:SLW) dropped 1.8 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.